Hydraulic control valve



Jan. 2, 1962 w. HAUSMANN ErAL 3,015,344

HYDRAULIC CONTROL VALVE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 25, 1959 NMR 262 205 me 216 i214 \2OO O i 2 O 2156 2mn lai! w Jan. 2, 1962 w. HAUsMANN ErAL 3,015,344

HYDRAULIC CONTROL VALVE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 25, 1959 FIG. 3

Werner Hausmann Richard Vogel FIG.6

IN V EN TORS AGENT.

Jan. 2, 1962 w. HAUSMANN ETAL 3,015,344

HYDRAULIC CONTROL VALVE Filed May 25, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORSJ Werner Housmonn Richard Vogel Il! MSENT.

Jan. 2, 1962 wr HAUsMANN ETAL 3,015,344

HYDRAULIC CONTROL VALVE Filed May 25, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIC-3.8

Werner Hausmann Richard Vo INVENT Patented Jan. 2, 1962 ddee 3,015,344 HYDRAULIC CNTROL VALVE Werner Hausmann, Uthieben, near Nordhausen, and Richard Vogel, Nordhausen, Germany, assign-ors to VEB Sehiepperwerk Nordhausen, Nordhausen, Harz, GermanY a corporation of "e-crlnany Filed May 2S, 1959, Ser. No. 815,499 Claims priority, application Germany May 24, 1958 12 Claims. (Si. 137-624) Our present invention relates to a regulating apparatus for hydraulically actuated loads in general, and, more particularly, to the actuation ot hydraulic lift devices such as those in common use on tractors, earth-moving machinery and other types of construction and land-working equipment.

Typical hydraulic controls for earth-moving machinery can be used in the following four positions: Up, down, stop, and neutral (or oating). Heretofore it has not been possible to couple these four actions in a single, simple control device. The best of earlier devices were able to accommodate only some of these positions in one plane of motion. The remaining positions necessitated a displacement of the control lever in a second plane of motion. These conventional devices have the disadvantage that they require time-consuming and expensive construction, maintename, and assembly.

An object of our present invention is to provide a compact control device for hydraulic installations which accommodates all four functioning positions in one plane of rotation.

A further object of this invention is to permit a single control device to regulate more than one system of hydraulic working cylinders.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic system in which a single lever may be displaced in one plane between a plurality of operating positions controlling one set of working cylinders and may similarly be shifted in another plane of motion to control another set of working cylinders in analogous manner.

A more particular object of this invention is to provide means for automatically restoring a hydraulic controller for three-point hitches or other lifting devices to an inactive position whenever the controlled device reaches a predetermined elevation. Y

The invention accomplishes the above objects through the provision of a preferably cylindrical valve member rotatable within a housing member, one of these two members (generally the housing) being provided with a plurality of ports While the other member has a pair of independent channels selectively communicating with these ports at axially spaced locations in different relative angular positions or the ytwo members. Advantageously, one of the channels may be formed as an internal duct extending axially within the cylinder and opening into a chamber of the housing which is in permanent communication with one of the several ports, such as an outlet port, while the other channel is in the form of a longitudinally extending peripheral recess, or preferably two such recesses at diametrieally opposite locations, terminating short of the said chamber.

lt will be convenient to form the cylinder with a number of axially spaced-apart radial passages or bores adapted to communicate with similar bores in a surrounding sleeve within the housing. Some of these bores may be made narrower thm others in lorder to provide a restricted passage which will retard the downward movement of the load and/or which will damp the movements or the load in its oating position.

These and other objects, features and advantages will vbecome more Ifully apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. l is a longitudinal section of a control device for hydraulic installations according to our invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section, similar to FIG. 1, of a second embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section of the embodiment of FIG. 2 in another stage of operation;

FIG. 4 is a section taken along line lV-IV of FIG. l;

FIG. 5 is a section taken along line V--V of FIG. l;

FIG. 6 is a section taken along line Vl-VI of FIG. l;

HG. 7 is a perspective view of a vehicle mounting a hydraulic control device according to our invention; and

FIG. 8 is a side-elevational view of a detail of FIG. 7.

FIG. l shows a housing comprising a block 101 and a sleeve 102 in that block. Housing 1116 contains a distributing cylinder 103 rotatable relatively to it. A control member in the form of a lever 104 is rigidly secured to cylinder 193 which, like sleeve 102, is provided with numerous radial passages forming pathways for a hydraulic fluid. The pathways of sleeve 1112 include annular grooves 1116, 111, 11e, 121 and radial bores 167 and 197g, 110, 161, 120 respectively communicating therewith. These bores are axially and angularly odset from one another for permanent communication with an inlet port 1115, an outlet port 112, and intermediate ports 117 and 122, respectively, in block 161. Outer bores 197 and 1ii7a, 161, 121! are selectively alignable with respective inner bores 1138, 114 and 114a, 118 and 118:1 in cylinder 103 Whose central duct 1199 communicates with these latter bores as well as with a chamber 16,3 opening into outer bore 116.

In the stop position (FG. 4) a hydraulic fluid such as oil is delivered under pressure from a reservoir 3 by a pump 2 through a conduit 12 into inlet port 165 in block 161, annular groove in sleeve 1192, radial bore 167 in that sleeve, and radial bore 1% in cylinder 193, aligned with bore 187, into central duct 169 extending axially within cylinder 103. From duct 169, the oil ows via chamber 163 and radial bore 119 in sleeve 102, annular groove 111 thereof and outlet port 112 in block 191 to reservoir 3. Ports 117 and 122 in block 161, connected via duid-transmission tubes 17 and 22 respectively to a hydraulic cylinder 1 whose piston 6 is attached to a load 7, remain closed.

When it is desired to raise the load 7, lever 1&4 is rotated clockwise, as viewed in FIGS. 4 6, from its normal stop position to the position up and oil is caused to dow under pressure from reservoir 3 through conduit 12, inlet 105 in block 161, annular groove 106, bore 1'ii7a in sleeve 1112, longitudinal channels 113e, 113b in cylinder 103, bore 161 (FG. 5 in sleeve 1532, annular groove 116 in that sleeve to port 117 in block 1111, thence through tube 17 to the lower end of hydraulic cylinder 1 to elevate its piston 6.

The return stream of oil flows from the top of cylinder 1 through tube 22 to port 122 in block 101 and thence through annular groove 121 in sleeve 102, bore 120 in that sleeve, bore 118 in cylinder 103 into central duct 1159. From duct 199 the oil returns to reservoir 3 in the manner stated above. Upon the release of lever 164, a restoring spring 162 applies a torque tending to return cylinder 193 to the stop position in which it is yieldably retained by an indexing member inthe form of a ball check urged by a helical spring 174 into a recess 176 in housing 19t). ln the absence of such indexing means,the tendency of spring 162 would be to turn the lever 194 into a position midway between those designated stop and neutral When control member 11i-1i is rotated in a counterclockwise direction to its neutral or Heating position,

the oil is able to llow from the lower end of cylinder 1 via conduit 17 through port 117 and thence through fluid pathways 116, 161, 11461, 1li?, 11841, 12%, 121 to port 122 and back to the upper end of cylinder 1.V it should be noted that bore 113m serially included in the fluid path, constitutes a restricted fluid passage serving to damp any spontaneous motion of the load while permitting the manual raising or lowering thereof. A certain damping eiect is also provided by the fact that the duct 1459, which is serially included in the aforementioned pathways, is simultaneously traversed by fluid circulating fro-rn the high-pressure side of sour/'e 2, 3 back to the low-pressure side thereof via inlet and outlet ports 1&5 and 112. Ute flow of this high-pressure uid, through a bypass including pathways lit-5, 197:1, 168, 199, 11i? and 111is countercurrent to that of the uid from hydraulic cylinder 1 in the case of a descending piston, this arrangement thus serving to maintain the load 7 completely or approximately stationary against the force of gravity.

To lower the load 7, control member 1114 is rotated further in a counterclockwise direction (FIGS. 4 6) to its down position against the action of restoring spring 162, whereby oil is pumped through inlet 165 and fluid pathways H56, 137, 113a and 11317, 12?, 121 to port 122 and thence to conduit 22 and the upper end of hydraulic cylinder 1, thereby depressing the piston 6. The hydraulic iluid returns from the lower end of cylinder 1 via conduit 17 through tluid pathways 116, 161, 114-, 109, 110, 111 and outlet 112 to the reservoir 3. It will be seen that bore 114 is narrower than either of bores 103 and 118 so as to exert a braking ei'ect upon the downward movement of piston 6 and load 7. When control lever 164 is released, restoring spring 152 returns cylinder 1013 tothe neutral position which is indexed in the same manner as the stop position.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show an embodiment of our invention which operates in a manner similar to that described in connection with FlG. but isv able to control two separate, independent workingr cylinders. The reference numerals of 2 and 3 having the same tens and units digits as those of HG. l refer to analogous components. Primed and unprimed numerals designate corresponding parts of the control device respectively associated with the two working cylinders. Y

A control device 2th), operatively connected via conduits V17, 22 and 17', 22 to hydraulic cylinders 781 and 733 respectively, is serially connected with these cylinders, a pump 2 and a reservoir 3. The device is provided with a housing 129 comprising a blockV Zilli., a sleeve 292 within that block and 'a distributing cylinder 203 rotatable y Vrelatively to the housing.

A control lever 294 is pivctably secured by a pin 273 spectively, in sleeve 292.y The pathways of sleeve 202Y further include radial bores 2117, 211i, 261, 220, 261', 22o' respectively aligned with these grooves.' Guterbores 207, 2249, 261, 221i', 261 are selectively alignable with inner bores 21253, 21S and 218e, 214 and 21M, 218 and Y 21d/1,V 14 and 21421, respectively in cylinder Zilwhose centra-l duet 209 communicates with these latter hores; chamber 253 opens into outerV bore 210 and into central duc-t 2%9.

When control lever 2li-5in VitsV stop position (illus- FIG. 2, thereby shifn'ng distributingY cylinder 263 to the left, oil flows through inlet 2G57, vamiular"groove 2155,

trated for the lever 194 in FlGS. ll and 4-6) Ais axially vdisplacedrto. its extreme right-hand posiiton as seen in tive fluid-transmission tubes 17 and 22 are isolated from the oil flow, and hydraulic cylinder 781 which is shown operatively connected to athree-point hitch 735 of a plow (FIG. 7) is not actuated. By rotating control lever 25% either clockwise or counterclockwise, all vfour previously described operating conditions (up, down, neutral and stop) may be realized.

When lever 2114 is axially displaced into its extreme left-hand position FlG; 3, distributing cylinder 263 permits a second, independent hydraulic cylinder-783 to be operated, eg. for the purpose of raising and lowering a dozer blade 732 (FIG. 7). ln this case, oil ilow is directed by distributing cylinder 2113 to, the elements of the control device designated by primed numerals. Again, all four operating conditions may -be used with hydraulic cylinder 783. It should be noted that, during the operation of cylinder 783, the load 7S5 associated with cylinder 781 will remain immobilized in the position in which it was last placed, the axial shift of cylinder 203 blocking the oil flow through the transmission tubes 17 and 22 las edectively as does the rotation of the lever 204 to its stop position. The same is true with regard to load 782 upon the return of cylinder 203 to its lefthand position.

A ball check 275 loaded by a spring 274 co-operates with four recesses, two of which are shown at 276 and 276', to index the distributing cylinder in one of its inactive (stop or neutral) positions associated with either working cylinder 781, 783. Ii desired, similar indexing means including two circular grooves may of course be provided for yieldably retaining the cylinder 203 in either of its axial positions irrespectively of its angular position.

FIG. 7 shows a tractor 741i) operatively mounting the control device 2th) of FIGS. 2 and 3, the plow 799 being attached to the 4tractor by the three-point hitch 755 coupled with hydraulic cylinder 781. The dozer blade 732 is. also attached to the tractor 76@ in operative relationship with hydraulic cylinder 783. Pump Z and fluid reservoir 3 are mounted under the hood of the tractor 70) and operatively connected to its `drive mechanism. FIG. 8 shows in further detail the connective arrangement between the three-point-hitch cylinder 781 land the control device 290.

Cylinder 731 is articulated to a lost-motion linkage 78d which is hinged via `a pin 259 (see alsoFIGS. 2 and 3) to an arm 273 rigidly secured to a shaft 272. Shaft 272 is axially dispiaceable against the force of a restoring spring 271. A clutch face 258a'onshaft 272 engages a complementary clutch face 253b on cylinder 293 whenever the latter is shifted `completely to the left.v Upon such engagement,the suitably dimensioned linkage 780 acts upon the arm 273 in a manner positively deilecting the distributing cylinder 2193 from its active angular position (up or down) whenever the three-point hitch 735 reaches a predetermined level of elevation.

As will be understood from the foregoing description, a hydraulic device as herein disclosed maybe provided with more than two axial positions so as to be usable forv the control of a 'larger number of loads. These and other features of our invention will be readily apparent to peri sons skilled in the art and are intended -to be embraced in the scope of the invention as -deiined in the appended claims.

We claim: Y I

1. A control devicel for hydraulic installations, cornprising a housing member, a rotatabley valve member within said housing member, control means for rotating said members relatively to each other, one of said members being provided with a first, asecoud, a third and a fourth port, the other of said members being provided with a first and a secon-d channelv separated from each other, said iirst channel being accessibleV at fout-,axially spacedlocations, Ysaid-second Achannel being accessible at three xially spaced locations, said'iirst channel communicating respectively with said first, second and third ports in a first, a second and a third relative angular position of said members and with said fourth port in all three of said angular positions, said second channel communicating respectively with said second and third ports in each of the two last-mentioned positions, first conduit means connecting one of said ports to a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure, second conduit means connecting another of said ports to a sink for said duid, and fluidtransmission means connecting the remaining two ports to opposite sides of a load.

2. A control device according to claim 1 wherein both said Second and third ports communicate with one of said channels in a fourth relative angular position of said members.

3. A control device for hydraulic installations, comprising a housing member, a rotatable valve member within said housing member, control means for rotating said members relatively to each other, one of said members being provided with an inlet port, a first intermediate port, a second intermediate port and an outlet port, the other of said members being provided with a first and a second channel separated from each other, said first channel being accessible at four axially spaced locations, said second channel being accessible at three axially spaced locations, said first channel communicating with said inlet port and said first and second intermediate ports in respectively a first, a second and a third relative angular position of said members and with said outlet port in all three of said angular positions, said second channel communicating with said rst and second inten mediate ports in respectively said third and second angular positions and with said inlet port in each of the two last-mentioned positions, first conduit means connecting said inlet port to a source of hydraulic iiuid under pressure, second conduit means connecting said outlet port to a sink for said fluid, and fluid-transmission means connecting said intermediate ports to opposite sides of a load.

4. A control device according to claim 3 wherein said other of said members is further provided with pathways communicating with said intermediate ports in a fourth relative angular position of said members and forming a restricted passage for the ow of said fluid at a reduced rate to and from said load.

5. A control device according to claim 4 wherein said pathways include said first channel.

6. In a hydraulic installation, in combination, a housing; a distributing cylinder rotatably positioned Within said housing; control means for rotating said cylinder; said housing being provided with a chamber adjacent said cylinder and with an inlet port, a first intermediate port, a second intermediate port and an outlet port axially spaced from one another, said outlet port opening into said chamber; said cylinder being provided with at least one axially extending central duct opening into said chamber and with at least one longitudinal peripheral channel separated from said duct and terminating short of said chamber, said cylinder being further provided with a rst, a second and a third radial passage opening into said duct at axially spaced locations; said first passage communicating with said inlet port, said second passage communicating with said first intermediate port and said third passage communicating with said second intermediate port in a first, a second and a third rotary position, respectively, of said cylinder; said channel communicating with said first and second intermediate ports in said third and second rotary positions, respectively, and with said inlet port in both of the last-mentioned positions; a hydraulic cylinder having a piston connected with a load; a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure; first conduit means connecting said inlet port to the high-pressure side of said source; second conduit means connecting said rst intermediate port to said hydraulic cylinder on one side of said piston; third conduit means connecting said second intermediate port to said hydraulic cylinder on the other side of said piston; and fourth conduit means connecting said outlet port to the lowpressure side of said source.

7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein said piston is adapted to raise and to lower said load upon said fluid entering said hydraulic cylinder respectively through said third and said second conduit means, said third passage being more restricted than said first and second passages.

8. The combination according to claim 6 wherein said distributing cylinder is further provided with fourth and fifth radial passages respectively co-planar with but angularly offset from said second and third passages, said fourth and fifth passages communicating with said first and second intermediate ports, respectively, in a fourth rotary position of said cylinder.

9. The combination according to claim 8 wherein said fourth and fifth passages are more restricted than any of the remaining passages.

10. The combination according to claim 8, further comprising indexing means for releasably maintaining said distributing cylinder in either of said iirst and fourth positions, and restoring means tending to rotate said cylinder from said second and third positions into said first and fourth positions, respectively.

11. The combination according to claim 8 wherein said piston is adapted to lower and to raise said load upon said fluid entering said hydraulic cylinder respectively through said second and said third conduit means, said first, second and third passages being positioned progressively closer to said chamber whereby fluid driven by a descent of said load from said third to said second passage in said fourth rotary position flows countercurrent to fluid delivered by said source.

12. A control device for hydraulic installations, comprising a housing member, a valve member rotatable and axially shiftable in said housing member, control means for displacing said members relatively to each other, one of said members being provided with a first, a second and a third port, the other of said members being provided with an axially extending channel communicating with said first port in a first relative position of said members and with said second port in a second relative position of said members axially displaced from said first position, said third port communicating with said channel in both of said relative positions, said members being relatively rotatable from said first and second positions into other positions in which said first and second ports are disconnected from said third port, first conduit means connecting said rst port to a first load, second conduit means connecting said second port to a second load, and third conduit means connecting said third port to a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure.

References Cited in the file of this `patent UNTED STATES PATENTS 679,533 Moore July 30, 1901 916,262 Brooke Mar. 23, 1909 1,099,161 Brown June 9, 1914 1,947,973 Davis Feb. 20, 1934 2,165,096 Frechette July 4, 1939 2,221,462 Trambley Nov. l2, 194() 2,407,812 Cain Sept. 17, 1946 2,439,515 Hodgson Apr. 13, 1948 2,541,958 Deardorff et al. Feb. 13, 1951 2,649,076 Dupre Aug. 18, 1953 2,777,426 Steele Jan. l5, 1957 2,863,290 Verderber Dec. 9, 1958 2,912,826 Tan Nov. 17, 1959 

